2014-04-08 - Arena Interview
Zandro Santiago was interviewed by the U.S. streaming site Arena.com (published on April 8, 2014). The main topics discussed were the new album, Christoffer Andersson and touring the US. The interview was done by Amy Sciarretto. Script Dead by April sound like the end result of a mano-y-mano battle between In Flames and Linkin Park. They’re lik a missing link. The Swedish band’s music is thoroughly modern, and it mixes the melodic crunch of metal with addictive and catchy pop hooks. Translation? You will headbang to melodies that lodge themselves in your brain for days at a time. That’s some truth right there. The band has perfected their sound on its latest offering Let the World Know, out now via Spinefarm Records. The album could end up being one of 2014’s sleepers, which is why we’re here to tell you all about it, with a little help from Zandro Santiago, one of Dead by April’s singers. Fans of the genre know that Sweden had produced some of the metal scene’s best, brightest and most important acts through the years, from Opeth to Soilwork to Dead by April, of course. What’s in the water in Scandinavia? A+R scouts might want to think about bottling it. Zandro Santiago: I don’t know. I think we produce good music in general in Sweden. When I grew up, everybody was playing music, and it’s like a healthy competition between all bands. Everybody wanted to be as good as possible and we helped each other out a lot. Maybe that’s one of the reasons.” He has a point there. A little friendly competition between bands never hurt anyone and it surely benefits the fans with an embarrassment of riches. For Let the World Know, Dead by April dealt with a lineup shift, with singer Christoffer Andersson firmly installed in his new role, replacing Jimmie Strimell. While acclimating and assimilating a new member is often a chore or a difficult task, Dead by April experienced nonesuch headaches. Zandro Santiago: Everything with Stoffe has been extremely smooth. We all felt right away that he was going to fit perfectly in the band. There haven’t been any challenges at all, actually. He and I found each other right away, both on and off stage, and we are getting stronger and stronger every day. This is the album that will “let the world know” about Dead by April. The song As a Butterfly could be one that puts this band on the map all over the world, once it finds it audience, which it sees poised to do and inevitably will. Zandro Santiago: When I first heard the song and read the lyrics, I got really emotional and tears filled my eyes. The lyrics are about the final words between a next of a kin and someone who is dying. The reason the track’s lyrical scenario touched a nerve is because he recently experienced that every situation. Zandro Santiago: Not so long ago, I lost my dad, and the lyrics for this song got me to remember my final moment with him. So, when I recorded the vocals on this song, I sang it with real emotions. I think there are many people out there who lost someone special that can find comfort in this song. Just like I did an do. That’s a pretty powerful revelation and is the connective tissue between the band, the fans and the song, and should certainly influence how listeners “hear” and react to the track. While Dead by April have amassed a disciple-like following in their native region, they certainly have America and the US in their sights. Zandro Santiago: Hopefully soon. I know that there are plans for us to come to the US, but I don’t know when or how. The show we did in New York was amazing and we really wanna come back. Domestic Dead by April fans certainly have something to look forward, though, since they will, like Ah-nuld in Terminator, be back. http://arena.com/article/dead-by-april-are-ready-to-take-on-the-world Sources